Scamp

I had previously mentioned that I would post a photo of our dog, Scamp.  Well, here it is.   He is 1/2 Poodle, 1/2 Australian Shepherd (AussieDoodle) in the Blue Merle coat.  He is a very good dog and even rings a bell to go outside.

13 Nov 2013

Well, it's been a while and a little crazy around here.  The holiday season is upon us even if it doesn't feel like it here in Florida.  I have been a crazy longarm quilter these past weeks and will probably continue to be until the big rush is over.
On the other hand, I have been working on our Maddy's quilt.  It was the Exploding Pineapple.  I am down to the last 19 blocks for the second time.  I pieced them once and realized that I cut my center block the wrong size which in turn messed up the entire set.
I did however figure out a quicker way to make them than the instructions have you doing.  I use my rotary cutter to make the center cuts in the squares before sewing them to the previous squares.  By doing this, it makes it easier to "chain piece" the blocks to go a bit quicker.  Hope the photos help you understand.  Just ask if you have any questions.  I will post more photos of the completed quilt.  Happy Quilting, Amy

29 Oct 2013

Well, I am trying to get back to getting more complete.  As I always say, to many ideas and things I want to create and never enough time!  Last weekend I did a sew-in day with my local quilt guild, Silver Threads.  We were doing the Exploding Pineapple block to make a table runner.  I can never just do a table runner as I like to go a little over the top!  I decided to do a lap quilt instead using only 3 colors.  Fuchsia, Black and White.  I got several blocks done in that little bit of time 9:00 am - 2:00 pm.  I get everything back home and Madeleine announces that the colors would look great for her new quilt for her double bed and by the way it matches her sleeping bag that I previously made.  So, now I am making many more blocks, but it will sure look great when I finish.  So, I am off to quilt a Quilt's of Valor quilt and make more blocks too!  Happy Quilting, Amy

My stitching area.

2 of the many blocks I need to complete.  

24 Oct 2013

I have had many compliments on my "Hawaiian Star" quilt 

(better name for it will come later after I quilt it)

I have been asked to share my color way for it, so here it is.

23 Oct 2013

Hello all, 

I have been quilting up a few customer quilts and trying to get my plan together for the quilting on my "Hawaiian Star" quilt.  I have also been asked about my batting roll holder that I made.  I am posting photos below of it.  I made it using (8) 2x4's, a couple of pipes with end covers, some plywood scraps for the table top, some sticky back tile squares and some edging trim to finish it off.  Not costly at all and you can purchase everything in one stop at Lowe's or Home Depot.  It is very sturdy and the only reason that there is some newer looking 2x4s on the sides is because this home as a step behind it to a door that we don't use.  Make sure to measure your width of batting to get the right clearance.  I have 96" roll batting on mine. Happy Quilting!  Amy

18 Oct 2013

Hello All!  I am very excited to say that I finished the borders to complete my Judy Niemeyer pattern "Hawaiian Star" (circa 2005) last night while Noel and the girls were playing Wii Sports!  Now I get to plan out the quilting!  I will of course post the finalized quilted version, but give me a bit...  I absolutely LOVE the bright colors!  
Enjoy,  Amy

15 Oct 2013

Here are many photos of the process of doing this crazy Judy Niemeyer "Hawaiian Star" quilt!  I am loving it!  I have added these for anyone who has never completed one of these foundation pieced quilts.   

The back of a piece as I am taking off the foundation papers.

Piecing two sections together.

Another view, notice that I do pin as needed to keep the curve accurate.

This is the actual piecing of the outside borders. You have to kind of think backwards.

The piecing as I go on the foundation papers.

Sewing on the line.  The dotted line is just where you line up your pieces.

Trim excess on each piece as you go.

Pressing out each piece as I go.  You have rough edges that will be trimmed later.

A fully pieced section.  I had to complete 16 of these bigger sections.

The finished sections front view untrimmed.

The section after trimming.  Each one of these sections took a minimum of 36 minutes to complete.

My piecing area.  I love my saddle stool and I adjusted the ironing board so that I could just turn and press.  I placed everything within a reach to be able to go quicker.

It's all starting to come together.  this is just the center section.  I will post the compete pieced top hopefully by the end of this week, then it will be the excitement of the quilting.  I can't hardly wait!

11 Oct 2013

I have just this evening completed bringing my Blog here to Google Blogger from my website.  I like this format better and it is much easier to share with everyone.

I hope will all will enjoy it too and follow me if you can. :)

This is what I have been working on this week for myself.  This is a Judy Niemeyer "Hawaiian Star" pattern.  I just love her patterns.  I have previously made her "Bali Wedding Star" and just purchased her "Mariners Star" to complete for my husband, Noel.

7 Oct 2013

I have finished the Bargello table runner.  Here are the photos of it:

Bargello table runner full view

Close up showing appliqué embroidery

Front & backing fabric

6 Oct 2013

I had a very productive week last week.  I caught up on all my customer quilts and now I have some time to get some of my own quilting complete.  I have many projects in the works, but I decided to focus on the holidays for a bit.
1st up is a table runner that I had been wanting to make for us.  I will post some photos here of the progress.
This is a Bargello table runner and it went together very easily, although I do not like the directions so I just look at the photo and put it together my way which is easier for me.  I don't like to count rows and remove a certain #, then sew it back to the other # etc....  For me it is easier to just look at the diagram with everything laid out flat to choose what goes where.

I've got my "Even" & "Odd" piles ready to go!

Seams are all pressed in this section.

 The entire table runner is completely pieced, now for some pizzaz!

A beautiful holiday bulb with appliqué embroidery on my Husqvarna Designer SE.

28 Sept 2013

Well, there are not enough hours in a day for me.  So may ideas, so little time.... I am lucky I can even get access to my computer as our girls seem to "need" it for homework etc..
Getting ready to start putting out my patterns for sale.  Just a bit more tweaking and testing then they will be available to the public.
I've been asked  about storage in my studio, so I thought I would share what I use and maybe give some ideas for different sized spaces.  I store the quilts that customers bring me in some Ikea Stuva drawers.  These drawers fit perfectly under my longarm table or can be placed anywhere as they are a great size, low cost and very sturdy.  We moved this past summer from Ohio to Florida with not a speck of damage!

This photo is an Ikea Alex 9 Drawer system.  Once again, very sturdy, low cost.  I use this to store my longarm and specialty threads.  You want to store your thread out of the sunlight so that it doesn't fade or dry out to much.  My cabinet is full of thread, so it can hold 200+ large spools of longarm thread.  Yes, I need another of these... as with fabric, you just can't ever have enough!

23 Sept 2013

I got quite bit complete last week.  I pulled 3 quilts off the frame just on Friday alone.  I kinda go nuts once I get started....  One of them was a very fun quilt called "Blessings of Summer" that I had the pleasure of completing for a customer. Hope you enjoy the photos! Happy Quilting!

18 Sept 2013

I've had some beautiful quilts come in to me lately.  One of my favorites is in the photo below.  It has all the colors of the beach and is quite relaxing.  I used a "Star Lite, Star Brite" pattern on it as we thought the stars look like starfish.

I've just completed another beauty with a  "Baptist Fan" pattern on it too.  I will post that in the photos section of my website.

I am getting ready to load a custom quilt this morning and will show some progress photos here as I go along.  Custom quilts take quite a bit more time to complete, so it will be a work in progress for several days.

The weather here in the panhandle of Florida has still been quite hot for me.  We are still seeing highs in the low 90's.  Quite a shock for a northern family, but it just gives me a better excuse to stay inside to create and quilt all day.

16 Sept 2013

16 Sept 2013

I am getting ready to load my 3rd quilt of the day.  The first 2 were lap size quilts with an all-over pattern on them, that's why they went so fast!  The 2nd  one will be posted on my webpage in the photos 2013 section in a bit, but the 1 cannot be posted until November due to the customer entering it in a guild quilt challenge.

I have several custom quilts in waiting and will post photos as I go.

I piece and sew all day on a Bernina 330 and I quilt on a Gammill Vision 22 equipped with IntelliQuilter.  My Bernina is on a separate large table in our Family Room and my Gammill is in a very large sun room that is lined with windows all along the back of the home.  Yes, I have taken over most of our home. 😊

This photo only shows one half of the space.  The other half is behind me were I keep a batting storage table (that I made), my large cutting table,  my ironing station and another bookcase for additional storage.

9 Sept 2013

Here we go!

I have decided to start this blog to have fun, laugh and create to share with you all every day.  It gets a little crazy around here with a busy household and very active children.

I love to quilt!  I have many projects currently in action with so many more in my head!  I am not one to shy away from anything and I find myself just “jumping in” to the big complicated quilts.

All this while being a wife and running our 3 youngest, very active girls to activities and friends.  Yes, I am a mom to 5 children as you may hear about them occasionally.  We also have the best dog ever (we all say that I think), an Aussiedoodle [Australian Shepherd/Poodle] “Scamp“!  He is quite the cutie and you may even see a photo of him on here in upcoming posts.  He loves to lay around (under my feet of course) while I try to get some longarm quilting done.

Gotta run for the moment, will post more shortly!  Happy Quilting!